RUŽICA PEJIĆ’S TESTIMONY MARKS THE BEGINNING OF STUDIO CENTRE'S OPERATIONS IN DOBOJ

DOBOJ, JUNE 2 /SRNA/ - The testimony of Ružica Pejić from Vozuća, who lost 12 family members during the Defensive-Patriotic War, was recorded in Doboj today, the first of its kind at the new studio centre in the city, which is part of a multimedia museum project initiated by the City Administration-supported Public Institution Republika Srpska Memorial Centre.

Before giving her testimony, Ružica told the press that on September 10, 1995, she lost 12 her family members, including her husband, who was captured alive in the Lozna area and taken to a mujahideen camp in Gostovići near Zavidovići, where he was beheaded. The family searched for the remains until 2008, when they received information about the discovery of human remains during the construction of a local road in the area. The remains were later transported to Visoko first, then to Banja Luka. "In Banja Luka, my brother-in-law, husband, and his relatives Slobodan and Luka were identified. The rest are still unidentified," said Pejić. She called on all surviving families still searching for loved ones to share their testimonies about what happened to them. Earlier, Deputy Mayor of Doboj Dijana Kalenić and acting director of the Public Institution Republika Srpska Memorial Centre Denis Bojić signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to implement the project of recording testimonies of families of fallen soldiers of the Republika Srpska Army and civilians during the Defensive - Patriotic War from the area. Bojić emphasized that studio centres will be established across Republika Srpska for the purpose of video-documenting the suffering of Serbs. "The testimonies and memories we record will be extremely useful and valuable - not only for the Republika Srpska Memorial Centre but also for educational purposes for our children," said Bojić. He added that the city of Doboj will benefit from the project in terms of memorializing the culture of remembrance. Kalenić stated that the City Administration formed a working group for this purpose, involving all relevant organisations and providing material and technical resources. According to her, today’s signing of the Memorandum was preceded by an initial meeting held seven days earlier, aiming to implement this important project to preserve the truth about the 1992 - 1995 historical circumstances for future generations. Also present at the signing was Isidora Graorac, the head of the Republican Organisation of Families of Captured, Fallen Soldiers and Missing Civilians, who emphasized that living testimony of what happened and the horrific crimes carries more significance than written records. "Three sentences by someone who lost a son, father, or brother are worth far more than leaving absolutely no trace," Graorac said. Dejan Kovačević, the head of the city department for was veterans and disabled persons protection, stated that 1,400 individuals from the families of fallen, captured soldiers and missing civilians are registered in the Doboj area, of whom only 300 parents are still alive. He noted that the studio centre is located within the Memorial Room of the Doboj City War Veterans Organisation.